Peter Sagan and the curse of the rainbow jersey

The Rainbow jersey is known for two things, being world champion in the professional sport of cycling and the curse that comes with it. Yes the rainbow jersey curse known for the rider to have a lackluster season be it through injury, illness or failure to win races. There are a few exceptions to the curse such as Merckx, Lemond, Hinault and Cavendish who had a successful year in the rainbow jersey.

World Champion stripes and medal

Over the past couple years Sagan has been the "nearly man", getting string of podiums but unable to put together a performance that would see him win stages of grand tours and one day classics. But despite his near misses it's his consistency that stands him out to others. Consistently on the podium or thereabouts, his consistency is most evident in the Tour De France having won the green jersey for the past four years.

Peter Sagan has become a victim of his own talent, his exploits since 2010 has made him a danger man for breakaways, that no one wants to work with him coming into the finish which has mainly resulted in podiums in previous years. His 2015 year however, has been on the up, his most notable wins the overall in the Tour of California,  the points classification in the Tour. Sagan has learned to race more tactically than rely purely on his own ability. I believe his race craft really came to the for in the Tour of California where excellent pacing on the final summit sealed his overall win by a mere 1 second. Next year he will be closely marked again by his competition which will be nothing new to him, however he may feel the added pressure of the rainbow jersey on his shoulders which may well indeed affect his state of mind going into races he's marked as a favorite for. Personally I don't think pressure phases Sagan, he's had pressure from commentators, writers and even his own team boss Tinkoff to win more races and land his first classics monument ever since he turned pro. If anything the rainbow jersey will spur Sagan onto greater wins such as the elusive classics and victories in the grand tours.

Peter Sagan doing his Wolf of Wall Street impression